Estonian experts shared their knowledge and experiences from our European Union membership that could also be useful for Moldova on their path to the European Union.
Speaking about media freedom and disinformation, participants highlighted that the latter is increasingly weaponised to create division within and between societies. “We can counter extensive disinformation campaigns by raising awareness and fighting disinformation,” Tiina Intelmann, Foreign Ministry’s Ambassador at Large for Peace Mediation and Multilateralism and a speaker at the event, said. “People need free and independent media to get accurate and fact-based information that helps citizens make educated decisions. A strong and diverse media landscape helps to increase the resilience of societies against external influence activities. It is also important to learn from each other’s experiences how to take a critical view of information sources to prevent hostile forces from attaining their goals,” Intelmann noted.
Intelmann said Moldova was a target of Russian propaganda in the latter’s attempt to divide and destabilise Moldova’s society on its path to the EU. “Estonia and Moldova are cooperating closely, sharing our knowledge and experiences to advance media freedom and democracy more broadly to increase resilience to external influence activities,” she said.
The seminar also covered Russia’s influence activities ahead of Moldova’s presidential elections and referendum on joining the EU. “Russia is attempting to influence the election results by deliberately circulating video clips falsely attributed to the government of Moldova and the European Union to create the impression that EU integration entails the militarisation of Moldova and participation in the war in Ukraine,” Member of the Board of PractNet Tiina Ilsen said. “However, a year of intense work in Moldova has proven that based on the practical experience of Estonia, it is possible to effectively rebut the lies of Russian propaganda,” Ilsen added.
The seminar was held as part of Estonia’s work in the Media Freedom Coalition, which we are co-chairing from mid-2023 and where our focus is on fighting disinformation and protecting journalists.
The Media Freedom Coalition was established in 2019 and it is a partnership between the governments, journalists, civil society representatives and legal advisers of 51 countries. Estonia is a founding member of the coalition. Last year, we took over the co-chairmanship from Canada, initially sharing duties with the Netherlands. From early 2024, Germany is the second co-chair of the Media Freedom Coalition.
PracNet is an organisation founded two years ago, bringing together Estonia’s Eastern Partnership experts, and in addition to Moldova, it is also advising the government agencies of Ukraine and Armenia.
Additional information:
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